Germany drops Snowden’s invite to testify on NSA spying in person

Germany will not be inviting whistleblower Edward Snowden to testify in front of a parliamentary committee which investigates US spying tactics of EU leaders and nationals, a German MP said on Thursday.

A member of the investigative committee from Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said in a
statement that the government opposes Snowden testifying in the
case regarding the National Security Agency (NSA)'s activities in
Germany.

"The federal government has never been in any doubt that
there is no legal basis for Mr. Snowden to travel to
Germany," Roderich Kiesewetter of the CDU said in a
statement, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

His statement came in response to a media report that accused the
government of blocking Snowden’s visit to Germany because of
diplomatic reasons.

The report published earlier on Thursday by Süddeutsche Zeitung
said that a personal invitation to the former NSA contractor and
leaker would "run counter to the political interests of the
Federal Republic" and "put a grave and permanent
strain" on US-German relations.

German opposition members from the Left and Green party who are
involved in the investigation believe that Snowden is a key
witness and should testify in person. But the CDU believes a
written questionnaire would suffice.

The whistleblower is currenty in Russia under temporary asylum.
He asked for asylum in Germany last summer, but his application
was rejected because he didn't file it from German soil. If
Snowden would have been invited to testify, he could have met the
requirements.

Meanwhile, opposition members have slammed Merkel for being
cowardly towards the US.

"Merkel is displaying cowardice towards our ally
America," said Green party leader Simone Peter, as quoted by
the Guardian. "We owe the Americans nothing in this respect.
The government must at least make a serious effort to safely
bring Snowden to Germany and let him give evidence here. But
Merkel doesn't want that."

Merkel’s office said on Tuesday that the chancellor will raise
the NSA surveillance issue during her upcoming visit to the US.
She will meet with President Barack Obama on Friday.

Clemense Binninger, chair of the investigative committee,
believes that getting at least some response from the Americans
would be “an important step forward to restoring trust,”
Deutsche Welle reported in April.

Snowden's revelations regarding US spying on Germany continue to
pour in. Der Spiegel recently published additional leaked data,
including information that the NSA compiled a comprehensive
dossier on Merkel, which included over 300 intelligence reports.